Study Supports Relaxing Age Restrictions for Donor Eggs in IVF

Study Supports Relaxing Age Restrictions for Donor Eggs in IVF

(HealthDay News) — Results of in vitro fertilization (IVF) cycles using eggs from older donors are as good as those using eggs from younger women, according to findings scheduled to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM), held from October 17–21 in Baltimore.

The study, conducted by Tal Shavit, MD, and colleagues at McGill University in Montreal, looked at more than 400 IVF cycles done with donor eggs – 345 from women younger than 35 and 83 from donors older than 35. The older donors were given higher doses of hormonal drugs and produced fewer egg cells.

The team found that pregnancy and live birth rates from IVF cycles using eggs donated by women over 35 were comparable to those using eggs from women younger than 35. Relaxing donor age restrictions could make more eggs available to infertile couples, especially in countries like Canada, which prohibits payments to egg donors, according to Rebecca Sokol, MD, MPH, president of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine.

"Extending the limit of acceptable donor age could make the process easier for Canadian patients with friends or family over 35 who want to donate eggs to them, and also expand the pool of altruistic donors who want to help patients unknown to them," Sokol said in an ASRM news release. "In the United States, a greater willingness to work with older donors could also help patients who prefer to work with a relative or friend as donor."